How Is Colorectal Cancer Diagnosed?
Colorectal cancer (colon cancer) is often detected through routine screenings such as colonoscopies, stool tests, and imaging scans. A biopsy confirms the diagnosis and determines the stage of the cancer.
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Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests
- Colonoscopy: A procedure using a colonoscope (a flexible, lighted tube with a lens for viewing and a tool for removing tissue), which is inserted through the anus into the rectum. Air is pumped into the colon to expand it, allowing the medical team to examine the colon lining. During this procedure, any abnormal growths in the entire colon and rectum can be removed.
- Sigmoidoscopy: A procedure using a sigmoidoscope (a flexible, lighted tube with a lens for viewing and a tool for removing tissue), which is inserted through the anus into the rectum. Air is pumped into the colon to expand it, allowing the medical team to examine the colon lining. During this procedure, abnormal growths in the rectum and sigmoid colon can be removed for further analysis.
- Stool tests: Tests that check for small or trace amounts of blood in feces (stool) that cannot be detected with the naked eye. Blood in the stool may be a sign of colon cancer or other problems, such as polyps, ulcers, or hemorrhoids.
Colorectal Cancer Stages
- Stage I: The colon cancer is only a shallow tumor or polyp and has not spread to any lymph nodes.
- Stage II: The tumor is thicker and may involve the colon or rectum but has not spread to the lymph nodes.
- Stage III: The cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
- Stage IV: The cancer has metastasized, or spread, to another organ in the body.
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